Melbourne
Melbourne
is the second largest city in Australia, and is the capital city of
Victoria region, always in competition with Sydney in different areas
such as sport and economy. Melbourne is located near the Yarra River
and sometime was the main city in Australia. Is called the Marvelous
Melbourne for its unique environment, it has it all, modern
buildings, beautiful beaches and can be said is the most cultural
city in the country, gives a lot of importance to the sports and here
is realized the famous Australian Tennis Open, the Melbourne Cup and
the Australian Grand Prix.
Melbourne can be considered
one of the world's largest cities in area having approximately 6110
sq.km. It has many gardens and parks which occupy the third part of
this area.
The city was founded in 1835 by John Batman, and its
name is in honor of Viscount Melbourne, William Lamb, during the
British occupation of Victoria. Since then Melbourne began to grow as
a city and commercial centre on the north end of Port Phillip. The
first magistrate in this city was Captain William Lonsdale, who came
from Sydney to establish the order and law.
In 1847
Melbourne was declared as a city by Queen Victoria, and in 1850 with
the gold discovery the city turned into the major port of Victoria
region, the Melbourne's hustle and bustle was incredible then, with
ships from all over the world arriving here, in 1854 the population
increased in almost four times its number and the city development
was obvious and more industries services were implanted, with all of
this Melbourne became the main financial centre in all Australia.
Because of the gold rushes Melbourne received many migrants
from many parts of the world, specially from Italy, Greece, Poland,
Turkey, Yugoslavia and Vietnam, all of this contributed to make of
Melbourne a very special and varied city, with traditions of many
different ways, and this mixture can also be seen in the restaurants,
architecture and festivals. There is China
Town
, the Greek precinct, the Italian quarter, and more – each of them
with their distinctive shopping and dining experiences from around
the world. If you are on a history trail, there is a fantastic array
of historical
Melbourne attractions
. Throughout the city there are many heritage buildings as well as
stunning new constructions along its wide tree-lined avenues and in
its intimate l
anes.
For a deeper understanding
of Melbourne’s history, there is a whole list of museums Melbourne
is proud of: the Gold Treasury, the Melbourne City museum, the
Immigration museum, and the Old Melbourne Goal are just the beginning
of a list of places tracing Melbourne’s past times and influences.
Right on the Yarra, there is the Melbourne
Aquarium
, Australia’s only Southern Ocean aquarium. The state of the art
complex, featuring over 1000 sea creatures, including giant sharks
and stingrays, is well worth a visit.
There is a long list of Melbourne tourist attractions. Many visitors return to Melbourne to take in elements missed on earlier visits - and even locals are still finding new areas to explore.
Where is Melbourne located?
Why is it often named Marvelous Melbourne?
How did Melbourne get its name?
How did the discovery of gold change the city?
What can you see in Melbourne?